1. Technical Field
Embodiments disclosed herein are related to improved illumination for vitreo-retinal, macular, or other ophthalmic surgeries. More specifically, embodiments described herein relate to ophthalmic surgical systems including an illumination system with blue light filtering to reduce the risk of phototoxicity.
2. Related Art
Ophthalmic surgical procedures, such as vitreo-retinal surgeries, can involve illumination of relevant anatomy in a patient's eye. For example, light can be directed at the macula during a vitrectomy. Illumination can be provided by one or more illuminators, such as an endoillumination probe.
Providing illumination within the eye can be challenging for several reasons. For example, exposure to light associated with wavelengths in the blue region of the visible spectrum can be harmful to the eye. Shorter wavelength light has greater energy per photon and is therefore more likely to cause phototoxicity than longer wavelength light. The standardized metric for retinal phototoxicity is the Aphakic Hazard. The eye can handle some amount of blue light without adverse effects, but if the duration of the surgery extends beyond a certain time, a surgeon must take steps to avoid harm to the eye. Conventionally, these steps include lowering the intensity of the light in the eye. This, however, can require the surgeon to work in a darker environment than desired for the duration of the surgical procedure—circumstances that can make successful completion of the procedure more difficult.
More recently, illumination systems have been developed that allow a surgeon to eliminate wavelengths associated with blue light. In these systems, a surgeon has two choices: include blue light or exclude blue light. This too, however, can be problematic because the surgical field appears yellow with the removal of blue light. Such working conditions are not ideal for a surgeon to successfully complete the surgical procedure.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved devices, systems, and methods that facilitate intraocular illumination with improved blue light filtering by addressing one or more of the needs discussed above.